Pop the prunes in a bowl, pour over the orange juice and leave to soak for one hour.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over a medium heat, then reduce the heat to low and stir in the garlic, onion, cinnamon and cumin. Sauté for 15 minutes, until the onion is soft and sticky but not coloured.

Turn up the heat slightly, add the lamb and brown for 2-3 minutes. Season, then tip in the prunes and their soaking juice. Cover with 300ml of water, bring to the boil and simmer over a low heat for one hour.

Stir in the chickpeas, almonds and pear, and simmer for a further 30 minutes. To finish, season and stir in the red-wine vinegar and orange blossom water. Serve on a bed of couscous with the parsley scattered over and a dollop of yoghurt on the side.

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and add the noodles. Simmer for five minutes, or until cooked, then drain. Rinse them under cold running water, then cut into 10–12cm lengths. Pop the noodles in a bowl, drizzle over a little sesame oil to coat, then set aside.

In another bowl, combine the soy sauce and caster sugar, and set aside.

Place a large nonstick frying pan over a medium heat, add a splash of vegetable oil and, once hot, pour in the beaten eggs, tipping the pan so they spread out into a thin omelette. As soon as it is cooked, transfer the omelette to a plate and finely slice it.

Return the pan to the hob and add another good glug of oil. Fry the onion and carrot for 5–10 minutes, until softened, then tear in the mushrooms and stir in the garlic and tofu. Fry for another 2–3 minutes, until the mushrooms have softened.

Stir through the spinach, then take the pan off the heat. Add the noodles, soy sauce mixture and chopped egg, and mix to combine. Scatter over the spring onions and sesame seeds, then serve.

Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/gas mark 7. Mix the cumin and paprika in a bowl, along with ½ teaspoon of sea salt. Score the skin of the pork belly with a sharp knife and rub the paprika mixture into it, making sure it gets into all the grooves. Place the meat in a small roasting pan and roast in the oven for 15–20 minutes.

Reduce the temperature to 170C/325F/gas mark 3 and cook the pork for another two hours, until the meat is tender and pulls apart easily.

Meanwhile, make a salsa. In a bowl, combine the tomato, spring onion, most of the chilli, the coriander stalks and most of its leaves. Add the lemon juice and a drizzle of olive oil, and season. Mix together and set aside.

To make the arepas, pop the masa harina in a bowl and stir in the vegetable oil and a pinch of salt. Pour in 275ml of water, then bring it together to form a smooth, pliable dough. Divide it into six and flatten each one into a disc about 1cm thick and 6-7cm in diameter. Pop them on a sheet of greaseproof paper and set aside until ready to serve.

When the pork is ready, take it out of the oven (turn up the heat to 200C/400F/gas mark 6) and leave it to rest. Put a griddle pan on the hob over a medium heat. Griddle the arepas for 4-5 minutes on each side, until griddle marked, then place them on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 20 minutes, or until cooked through. Keep the griddle pan on the hob.

Place the corn cobs on the griddle pan, let them char for a few minutes on each side, then set aside to cool. Once the corn is cool enough to handle, use a knife to carefully slice off the kernels. Meanwhile, shred the pork belly into a bowl and set aside.

To serve, grate the goat's cheese over the arepas and top with pork, salsa and corn, then scatter over the rest of the chilli and coriander. Alternatively, slice them open and stuff with the topping ingredients.

Sift the flour, baking powder and two teaspoons of salt together in a bowl and make a well in the centre. Pour in the groundnut oil and about 200ml of warm water, or as much as you need to form a dough, mixing with a knife until it comes together.

Tip the dough on to a floured work surface and knead for four-five minutes, until smooth and elastic. Return it to the bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave to prove for one hour.

Place a large nonstick frying pan over a low–medium heat and pour in a glug of oil. Add the garlic, onion and cumin, and sauté for about 10 minutes, until soft and sticky.

Turn up the heat to medium, stir in the kidney beans, sour cream and vinegar, season well and simmer for about five minutes, until the beans have softened.

Mash your refried beans for a coarse texture, or blitz them in a blender if you prefer them smooth. Return the beans to the pan and leave to one side for reheating later.

When your dough has risen, divide it into 12 pieces and roll them into balls. Flatten each one with your hand, then, on a floured surface, roll out into a tortilla 2mm thick and about 18cm in diameter.

Place a large nonstick frying pan over a medium heat and, once hot, dry-fry each tortilla for one minute on each side, until just coloured – you want them still soft enough to roll. Cover with kitchen foil to keep warm while you fry the rest.

When ready to serve, lay out your chosen toppings. Place the pan of bean mixture over a low–medium heat for 1-2 minutes, until warmed through, then spread a couple of spoonfuls over each tortilla. Scatter over the chilli and coriander, add your toppings and serve with lime wedges, for squeezing over.

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. In a bowl, toss the chicken thighs with the ground coriander, white pepper and a pinch of salt. Add a glug of oil to a large saucepan and fry the chicken over a medium heat for 7-8 minutes, until browned all over.

Transfer the chicken to a medium-sized roasting pan and cook in the oven for 30–40 minutes, until golden, adding the cherry tomatoes halfway through.

Meanwhile, using the same pan you browned the chicken in, add a splash of oil and sauté the onion, garlic, chilli and parsley stalks over a low heat for 10 minutes.

Stir in the tomato puree and chopped tomatoes, then pour in the chicken stock. Bring it to the boil, then reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for five minutes. Stir in the rice, pop the lid on and let it bubble away for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, adding water if it gets too dry.

Stir in the parsley leaves, followed by the cooking juices and cherry tomatoes (discarding the stalk) from the roasting pan. Mix well, squashing the tomatoes into the rice.

Serve the rice with the chicken pieces on top and lemon wedges on the side for squeezing over.

Make the cevapi at least a few hours before you want to cook them, or ideally the night before. Place the minced beef and pork in a large bowl, then crush in the four garlic cloves. Sprinkle over the bicarbonate of soda and paprika, and season.

Crack in the egg and use your hands to scrunch everything together. Add as much of the sparkling water as you need to make a smooth, pliable mixture.

Divide the meat into 10–12 pieces and roll each one into a sausage about 10cm long and 2cm thick. Place the cevapi on an oiled baking tray, cover with clingfilm and chill in the fridge until needed.

For the ajvar, preheat the oven to 230C/450F/gas mark 8. Place the whole peppers and aubergines on a large roasting tray, along with the unpeeled garlic bulb, and roast in the oven for 30-40 minutes, or until the veg skins are blackened, turning halfway through.

Once the peppers and aubergines are charred, place in a bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave for 20 minutes. Once they've cooled slightly, pull off and discard the skins, seeds and stalks, and chop the flesh on a board. Squeeze out the garlic from six roasted cloves and add to the veg, along with most of the parsley, then chop it all together. (If you have roasted garlic left over, stir into softened butter and store in the fridge – it's great for garlic bread.)

Keep chopping everything together, season with salt and pepper, squeeze over the juice of one of the lemons and drizzle over a good glug of olive oil. Adjust the seasoning to taste, then set aside.

Finely chop the remaining parsley, tip it into a bowl, then mix in the onion and remaining lemon juice. Set aside.

Just before you're ready to serve, warm the flatbreads in the oven and place a griddle pan over a high heat. When hot, cook the cevapi for 10–12 minutes, until cooked through.

To serve, spread some ajvar on top of the warm flatbreads, with a couple of cevapi and a guindilla pepper on top of each, a dollop of sour cream and the herby onion on the side.

World Cup special

For Brazilians, football can mean salvation. It can also mean violence and corruption. Will the World Cup unite a nation? Photographers Mathias Braschler and Monika Fischer spent a month travelling from the rainforests of the north to the praires of the south to find out